Congress recognizes local teen leading by example

The Congressional Award Foundation is Congress’ only charity.

Each year, only six young Americans in the whole country receive one of the Congressional Awards.

On Wednesday, 16-year-old Garvey Blackwell was honored as Yuma’s first recipient of the prestigious Silver Medal Congressional Award.

It’s the highest honor a member of Congress can bestow upon a young civilian, and i t’s not easily obtained.

Blackwell became a certified scuba diver and also successfully executed a trip to Guam in order to meet the fitness and expedition requirements of the award.

She completed 4,000 hours of community service, even though 400 hours was the minimum required.

Blackwell said, “Being a part of these boards and being a part in my community means so much to me, being side by side with a lot of these people.”

The award was presented by U.S. Congressman Paul Gosar .

He said our country doesn’t see enough of these young role models, especially as our nation recovers from a series of mass shootings; mostly committed by young Americans.

” These are the role models that we want to show people, the accountability and how much influence do they have around the mass of people that surround them, ” Gosar said.

The Yuma County Sheriff’s Office wanted to know how the government and community agencies could better connect with the youth.

Although Blackwell didn’t have a clearcut answer, this may be a new challenge for her to take on as the community and Congress now hold her as a change agent for the future.

Blackwell already has her eyes set on another achievement.

She says she’s very close to meeting the requirements for the lifetime volunteer achievement award.

After that, Blackwell hopes to one day have a career as a librarian.